


One Day

by sg_wonderland



Series: Days series [1]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen, Kidfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-17 06:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8134271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sg_wonderland/pseuds/sg_wonderland
Summary: This is me wading into the Daniel-gets-shrunk genre.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have been reminded that I promised to post this series here. This is a 20-part, Daniel gets shrunk, Jack is his guardian fic.

One Day

 

“Welcome to PX-3…”

“92, sir. PX-392.” Carter provided.

“Thank you, ma’am. Yes, lovely PX-392. Right at the top of my places-I-want-to-visit-in-my-vacation list.”

“Funny, I thought Vegas was numero uno,” Daniel quipped.

“Because...” Jack drawled.

“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” The two of them chorused it together as Sam shook her head at them. Honestly, some days it was like she was the mother of two-year-old twins. Very, very spoiled twins.

“Sir, according to the UAV, the cavern is three clicks southeast of here. And the village is two clicks east.”

“Okay, T, you and Daniel hit the cavern. Carter and I will see if the natives are friendly, if there are any natives.” Jack held up his finger. “Ah, Daniel, the UAV showed no signs of life in the ruins of the village, nothing even linguisty.”

“Linguisty? What kind of word is that?”

“Italian, I believe, derived from linguine. Check in every half hour and we’ll meet back here at sixteen hundred. Teal’c, take care of Daniel. It’s Thursday, you know how he gets on Thursdays.”

Teal’c wisely chose to ignore the last comment. “When have I ever done otherwise?”

*

 

Daniel was bitterly disappointed in the caverns. They just seemed to be plain, ordinary caves. He sighed as Teal’c loomed quietly. “Daniel Jackson, have you found anything?”

“In the words of Jack O’Neill, I have found squat, Teal’c. I’m just gonna look at this last chamber and we can head out.”

“I will accompany you.”

“I’d be surprised if you didn’t.” Daniel replied.

As soon as Daniel stepped into the chamber, it was flooded with light. He felt Teal’c grab him and drag him back, watching as the room darkened. “What is that, Daniel Jackson?”

“I have no idea. The light came on as soon as I stepped in.” He started forward again, only to be pulled up short once again. “Teal’c?”

“I will proceed first, to ascertain the safety of this chamber.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Daniel countered ruefully.

“If I believe it to be safe, you may enter. Please remain here until I indicate otherwise.”

Daniel stood impatiently as the chamber lit up with a brilliant white light that caused him to blink and cover his eyes. “Teal’c?” If Teal’c answered, Daniel couldn’t hear because a tremendous roar filled his ears. “Teal’c!” He shouted as he ran forward, unable to see anything in the light. “Teal’c? Where are you?” The only answer he received was the trembling underfoot as he was thrown to the ground.

 

*

 

“Carter, what the hell was that?”

“I don’t know, sir, almost felt like an earthquake.”

“Figures,” Jack grabbed his radio. “Daniel? Daniel, come in. Teal’c? Dammit, I got nothing.” They started towards the caverns.

*

Teal’c had never had such a tremendous headache in his entire life. Groaning as he managed to sit up, he briefly wondered what had happened. He seemed to be in some type of underground chamber, although how he knew it was underground, he could not say. There was sufficient light for him to determine he was not alone, his grab for his weapon was completely instinctual even as he realized his companion could hardly be described as a threat. 

Mere inches from him lay what seemed to be a small child. Teal’c was loath to touch the child, caring for the young was not the job of a warrior, those tasks were best left to females. His head cocked inquisitively as the child suddenly came to life, cradling his head. Gasping as he spied his companion, the child scooted away from him, as best he could in garments clearly designed for someone of larger stature.

“Who…who are you?” The child’s voice trembled.

“I am Teal’c. First prime of Apophis.”

*

When Teal’c heard his name shouted, he turned, keeping his weapon in his hand. When two people entered, he pointed his weapon at them. “Come no further.”

They stopped dead. “Teal’c? What’s going on? Where’s Daniel?”

“I do not know this Daniel of whom you speak. Who are you?”

“T,” Jack spoke slowly, “it’s me. O’Neill. Come on, buddy, you know me.”

“I do not.”

“Okay, where’s Daniel?” The man started into the cave, only to be met with a cocked staff weapon.

“Teal’c. I just need to know that Daniel is okay. Is he hurt?” The voice was slow, steady, reassuring. “Can you just let me check on him?”

“You will not harm the child?”

“Child?” Jack’s eyebrows shot skyward.

“Sir.” He followed Carter’s gaze.

There, cowering against the wall of the chamber, was a small child, encased in clothes that were clearly those of an SG-1 team member and clearly too large for his tiny frame. 

“Crap,” Jack swore softly. “Daniel? Is that you?” He started forward, freezing when the child tried to crawl away. “Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you. I promise.” The child’s huge frightened eyes were locked on the weapon in his hand. “Okay, I’m gonna let Carter hold this for me. See, no gun. I just want to make sure you’re alright.” Jack wondered what the hell had happened. Teal’c didn’t seem to know who they were and Daniel seemed to have shrunk several feet. “Daniel?”

“How...how do you know my name?” The voice faltered, shook.

“I’m a friend of yours, my name is Jack. Do you remember Jack?”

His head shook vigorously. “I don’t know.”

“Okay,” Jack knelt close enough to see that the child was shaking, probably scared to death. He wasn’t quite ready to accept that this Daniel was his Daniel. “I just want to make sure you’re okay, that you’re not hurt. Is that okay? Just gonna check you out, that’s all.” The child let him slide his hand over his head, jumping when he touched the back of his head. “Got quite a knot there, little fella. Did you hit your head?”

“I don’t know.” There was a note in that voice that told Jack this could go either way. The kid was clearly on the edge of either collapse or hysteria.

“I have a friend who is a doctor. How about we let her check you out? Would that be okay? Your friend here can come with us, how’s that? Do you know him?” Jack added as an afterthought.

“He…he said his name is Teal’c.”

“It’s a long walk back, how about I carry you? Is that okay?” The tousled head nodded and he let Jack tug the pants and boots off. “There, isn’t that better? I’m just gonna put them in your pack, right here. So you’ll have them for…later.” Jack wrapped Daniel’s jacket around the child and easily lifted the small body up in his arms. “Not much to you, is there?”

“Where do you take the child?”

“Teal’c, I don’t know what’s happened here, but you and Daniel are our teammates. Don’t you remember? You work for the Air Force.”

“I serve Apophis.” 

Carter’s weapon came up automatically, as instinctive as the step she took to place herself between Teal’c and the colonel, as was the turn Jack took, shielding Daniel with his own body. “Sir?”

“I don’t know, Carter. We need to get Daniel home. Teal’c, will you let us take Daniel home? He belongs to our people. We can help him. You have to trust us.”

Teal’c was torn. Something told him watching this child, protecting this child was his charge and he had failed in that duty. “How did you come to this world?”

“We came through the Star..the chaapa’ai? Look, you can come back with us, but we need to take Daniel. And you need to give Carter your weapon, they won’t let you bring it where we’re going.”

“Sir?”

“Carter, we have to get Daniel out of here. And I don’t want to hang around waiting for any aftershocks. I say we get to the gate and send another team out here to try to figure out what the hell happened.”

“Yes, sir.” She picked up Daniel’s pack, unsure of where to walk. Did she take point in front of the colonel and leave Teal’c at her back? Or did she let Teal’c go in front of her and leave the colonel and Daniel unprotected? Teal’c solved her problem by handing her his staff weapon. It was clear he was going wherever Daniel was going.

Jack set his burden down beneath the DHD. The child hadn’t uttered a word, made a sound during the walk back. “Carter, dial it up.”

“Yes, sir.” She jumped as she heard a zat fired, swinging with her P90 in her hands to see Teal’c lying on the ground.

“Sorry about that, big guy, but we can’t take the chance.” Jack took restraints out of his vest and tied Teal’c up. “Carter, send the signal then take Daniel through. Tell Hammond what happened and send a security team back for us. Go on.”

Sam picked up Daniel, whose huge eyes and ashen face led her to believe shock was setting in. “I promise it won’t hurt. Just close your eyes and we’ll be home in a second.”

 

*

 

To say that her appearance caused shock would be a mild understatement. “Close the iris,” she shouted as soon as they were on the ramp.

“Major?”

She was torn, she knew she had to get Daniel to the infirmary, but she also knew that O’Neill was on the planet with a Teal’c who still thought he was Apophis’ first prime. “Sir, we need to send a security team back through for Colonel O’Neill. He had to zat Teal’c, he may have been compromised.”

“Get a security team ready to deploy ASAP.” Hammond ordered. “What about Dr. Jackson?”

Sam motioned for the general to follow her into the unoccupied hallway before she uncovered the face buried in her shoulder. “Sir, this appears to be Daniel.”

 

*

 

In the infirmary, Daniel refused to relinquish his hold on Sam. She put him down long enough to divest herself of pack and vest then scooped him back up into her arms. “Carter?”

She looked down at the whispered word. “Daniel? Do you know who I am?”

“That...that man. He called you Carter.”

“How about you call me Sam?”

“Are my parents gone?”

Sam couldn’t hide her shock. “Why would you say that?”

“Because they’re not here. They wouldn’t have left me unless they were... They never left me, ever.” He spoke slowly, choosing his words. “I think, I think they left me.”

Sam held him close. “I don’t know, baby, I don’t know. Here’s Dr. Fraiser, but I bet she’ll let you call her Janet. I need to go check on Colonel O’Neill. Will you be a good boy for Janet? If you need me, she can call me and I’ll be right back, okay?” She tried to smile at his worried look. “I promise I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, let’s get you out of that jacket.” His solemn eyes latched onto Janet. “I’ll just make sure that you’re okay, and then we’ll get you something to eat.”

“I …I need to..” His whole face turned a bright red.

“Oh,” Janet smiled in understanding. “How about I take you? This floor’s awful cold on little bare feet. Up you go. And the bathroom is just right here.” 

Never in her wildest dreams when she woke up that morning did Janet Fraiser imagine she would end her day by holding Dr. Daniel Jackson while he peed.

 

*

 

“I’ll have to have the DNA results back to be one hundred percent positive, but the fingerprints match. It is Daniel.” Janet informed her audience.

“How is he, health wise, Dr. Fraiser?”

“He says he’s five but he seems to be small for his age, General. He was quite amenable to allow me to examine him, I think he’s still in a bit of shock.” She hesitated. “He asked Sam about his parents, where they were.”

“Shit!”

“He said they had never left him anywhere. In his mind, the next logical jump was them being gone, although he didn’t use the word dead.”

“Even at five he’s too damn smart.”

“General, I don’t have any experience with five year-olds but I’d hazard a guess that most of them are not this quiet, this subdued. It could be stress or shock or both.”

“And Teal’c?”

“Physically, he’s fine. Emotionally, he still believes he is the first prime to Apophis. Incidentally, he asked after Daniel several times, I think he believes he was supposed to be guarding Daniel and being imprisoned is punishment for failing.”

“Because the last thing the colonel said was to take care of Daniel.” Sam suggested.

“So both Dr. Jackson and Teal’c regressed in age approximately thirty years?”

“That would be a good guess, sir. Remember that the Jaffa age at different rates than humans. A one-hundred-year-old Teal’c probably would not look much different than a seventy-year-old Teal’c.”

“Lucky guy.” Jack quipped. “So, Carter, any idea how we fast forward them?”

“We’ve got a scientific team gearing up to see if we can make anything of the cavern where we found Daniel and Teal’c.”

“Dr. Fraiser, I take it Dr. Jackson will be staying in the infirmary for the present time?”

“Yes, sir, I’d like to keep an eye on him. We’ll need to get some clothes, maybe some books for him.”

“I’ll have that taken care of.” Hammond had, in fact, already gotten started.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Doc, you got any objections if I look in on the little feller?”

“I think he might like that, Colonel, as long as you don’t tire or over-excite him.”

“Although I have been accused of exhausting him, exciting Daniel has never been one of my many talents.”

*

 

Jack couldn’t quite get used to a pint-sized Daniel Jackson. Yes, the hair was still overly long, a shaggy riot of dark blond curls, suggesting a trip to the barber in the not too distant future. The eyes were still a stunning blue, seemed too big in that round baby face. He plopped himself down on the side of the bed which engulfed the tiny form. “Hey, there.”

Those eyes latched on to his. “Colonel?”

“Why don’t you call me Jack, think you can do that?”

“Okay.”

“Mind if I sit with you awhile?” He shook his head. “Scoot over, then, and I’ll just stretch out here beside you.” Daniel complied, but drew back against the rail so that he wasn’t actually touching Jack, who realized some things might never change. “So, did they get you something to eat?”

“Not hungry.”

“Well, I am. How about I send for something and you can help me eat it? They get real mad in the kitchen if we don’t send our plates back empty. What would you like?”  
Daniel shrugged; Jack figured he probably had never had real American food so he wrote down an order for cheeseburgers, fries and milk, passing it off to one of the nurses. “How about you tell me the last thing you remember. Before you woke up in the cave.”

“I was in bed asleep, and then I was there. Something bad happened, didn’t it?”

“I don’t know about bad, but something happened. That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

“Why time passed so quickly?”

“What makes you think time passed?”

“I’m not stupid,” he asserted with some of his old spunk, pointing at the wall in front of his bed. “That calendar says it’s 2000, not 1970. That qualifies as something bad.” He stated with more assurance than any five-year-old should have.

Jack swung around to face him. “Ah, Daniel, you were always too smart for your own good. I’ll tell you what I know. You and Teal’c went into that cavern and something happened, we still don’t know what yet, but somehow, the two of you lost thirty years.”

“But Teal’c?” Jack nodded at his uneasy pronunciation. “Teal’c still fit his clothes.”

Tread carefully, Jack reminded himself. “Teal’c’s from another place and his kind of people live a lot longer than we do. So thirty years wouldn’t make a lot of difference to him.”

“Okay.” He seemed to accept that explanation.

Jack gave a sigh of relief when dinner arrived. Swinging the bedside table over, he uncovered the dishes. “Have you ever had a cheeseburger? No? So I get to introduce you to American food.” Jack was busy cutting the cheeseburger in quarters, hoping he could get Daniel to eat at least part of it. “Here, try this.” He smiled at Daniel’s reaction. “Like that, do you? Okay, have some fries and there’s milk.” Jack took a big bite. “Hmm, that’s pretty good.”

 

*

 

“Jack?” It was half an hour later, Daniel had consumed almost half of his cheeseburger, a few fries and all of his milk, evidently ice-cold milk was quite a novelty for the desert-raised child. Swearing he was only doing so to prevent hurting the cook’s feelings, Jack had eaten what Daniel didn’t.

“Yeah, kid?”

“What will happen to me? If you guys can’t fix this?”

Jack bit his tongue on the comment about foster care over his dead body; he didn’t need to confuse him any further. “We will take care of you until we figure this out and if we can’t fix it, we will definitely make sure you are taken care of. You let us worry about it, okay?”

 

*

 

Two days later, they were no closer to fixing the problem. Teal’c was in a holding cell, still believing he served Apophis and possibly Daniel, who was in the infirmary being far too quiet and well-behaved for a five-year-old. The scientific team had left monitoring equipment in the cavern after having unintentionally initiated some sort of light show.   
*

 

Jack wandered into the infirmary. “Dr. Fraiser, how about you let me take Daniel home with me?” 

“Colonel?”

“Listen, we are no closer to figuring this out and Daniel hasn’t seen the sun since 1970.”  
Janet shook her head. “Isn’t that bending the truth just a tad bit?”

“Not from where Daniel is sitting.”

That shut her up.

 

*

 

“So I’m taking Daniel to the mall.” 

Sam looked up in surprise. “I thought after that last time with Cassie, you said you weren’t going back to the mall even at zat point.”

“Daniel needs stuff, you know, clothes and toys and a haircut and, you know, stuff.”

“Is this a subtle attempt to get me to go with you?”

“Nah, I figure once Daniel turns those big sad eyes on the salesladies, I won’t have any problem. You have to admit, he’s one seriously cute kid.”

“So you’re going to use Daniel to pick up women?”

“Not pick them up. Get them to help pick out clothes. See the subtle difference there? However, I won’t turn away any and all offers of help.”

“Give me fifteen minutes?”

“We’ll meet you up top.”

 

*

 

Sam had never taken a small child to the mall but she didn’t miss the envious glances from the other parents dragging their complaining children around. Daniel held on to either one of their hands at all times, didn’t bicker about what they had selected for him, tried on outfit after outfit without complaint, sat quietly for his haircut and didn’t go nuts when they took him to the toy store. Sam figured Daniel probably didn’t know what a real toy was.

The helpful young clerk suggested some books that were beyond most five-year-old’s capacity after having a short conversation with Daniel. Some puzzles, coloring books and Jack selected a softly stuffed rabbit. He shrugged at Sam’s expression, it might have been a while but he did remember Charlie having a favorite toy that helped him sleep, something with which he figured Daniel was going to have a problem.

Jack suggested dropping the two of them at his house while he went to the grocery store. Daniel hadn’t objected to anything he had been asked to do but Jack knew the kid had to be exhausted and confused. He obediently crawled into his brand new booster seat and let Sam buckle him in.

 

*

 

Bustling around Jack’s house, Sam realized that Daniel was being too quiet. Hoping he might have fallen asleep, she tip-toed into the living room to find him curled up in the recliner, with a brand new bunny clutched in his arms, sharing a whispered conversation. “Daniel?” His head jerked up in surprise. Sam had to smile; the new haircut had tamed the curls, highlighting those eyes. “Would you like something to drink? I found some juice.

“Okay.” 

She shook her head as she got his drink; she didn’t know if she’d ever get used to a Daniel who was so agreeable to everything. Scooting under him, she held him and his rabbit as he drank his juice. “Sam?”

“Yes, honey?”

“Is Teal’c okay?”

Not sure how to answer, she hesitated. “You know that you and Teal’c both lost part of your life? Well, Teal’c was a very different person back then and it’s very hard for him to accept what he’s lost.”

“Is he in jail?”

She turned him so she could see his face. “Why do you think he’s in jail?”

He tugged his bunny’s ear. “I heard someone ask Dr. Fraiser. I don’t think they thought I could hear them.”

“It’s not really jail, but it’s for his protection. You understand that? We aren’t trying to hurt Teal’c, we just want to help him.”

 

*

 

They were sitting in the recliner when Jack got home. Sam had finally gotten Daniel to relax and fearful of waking him, she had settled for holding him as he slept.

“Let me put these groceries away and I’ll help you get him to bed.”

“I’ve got it, sir.” She slid out of the chair, shifting Daniel up into a steadier grip. “He’s so tiny.”

“Yeah, Fraiser said he was on the short end of five.”

Jack let the groceries go and followed her up to the spare room. Between them, they eased off clothes and on pajamas with the tags just snipped off before tucking him in.

“Sir, he asked me about Teal’c” They trailed down stairs. “He seemed very concerned that Teal’c was in jail.” She shrugged at his expression. “He overheard something in the infirmary. Do you think we should take him to see Teal’c?”

“In a holding cell? I don’t think so.”

She had another subject she wanted to broach and she decided to just plunge in. “Sir, I think we should scout out a child psychologist.”

Jack swore. “Why?”

“Most kids wouldn’t react to the news that they just lost thirty years of their life in this way. Sir, he is either in total shock or total denial.”

“Can’t you just give it some time? If those egg-heads figure it out, we fast-forward him and Teal’c and all’s well.”

“And if they don’t? The longer we let this go, the harder it’s going to be for Daniel to deal with this.”

“Let me think about it.”

As compromises went, it was about the best she could hope for.

*

 

If Jack or Sam thought Daniel would have nightmares, they were both wrong. When Jack checked on Daniel the next morning, he found the child still asleep, the bunny stuffed between him and the pillow. With a smile, he left him to take a shower and get breakfast going. If he wasn’t awake by that time, he’d wake him up since Daniel had eaten very little the day before.

And much as he hated the notion, he was going to have to think about Daniel seeing a shrink.

 

*

 

Daniel was clean, fed and piled up on the couch with a book in one hand and a bunny in the other. Jack took a deep breath and sat down beside him. “Daniel, can we have a talk?” He politely put his book down, turning to face Jack without relinquishing his new best pal. “Sam said you thought your parents were gone.”

“I know they are.”

“Because?”

“They would have come for me by now if they could have. They can’t come because they’re dead?”

Jack nodded. “Yes, Daniel, I’m sorry, but they are dead.” He paused. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Talking about it isn’t going to bring them back or change what happened to them,” Daniel pointed out with devastating logic.

“That’s true, Daniel, but see, we’re worried about you. Most people get very sad and cry when someone dies.”

“You think I should be sad and cry?”

More of that Daniel Jackson logic. “I think if you want to cry and be sad, you should be allowed to do that, no matter what other people think.”

“I am sad. But it’s my kind of sad.”

“Okay, Daniel, but if you need to talk about it, don’t shut us out. Me and Sam, we want to help you, okay?” Jack gently tweaked a little foot.

“Okay.” They sat like that for a few minutes. “Do you think Teal’c is sad?”

“I think that would be a very good description of how Teal’c feels. Are you worried about Teal’c?”

“I…um, overheard something in the infirmary. They said it was a good thing that Teal’c didn’t hurt me and that’s why they put him in the jail. But he didn’t hurt me, when you found me, he was kind of trying to protect me. I don’t want him to be sad because of me.” It was the most Jack had heard him speak since he shrank.

“Why don’t I ask Teal’c and see what he thinks? Fair enough? How about we watch some TV?”

“What’s TV?”

Jack slapped his forehead with an exaggerated gesture. “Kid, I have got so much to teach you.”

 

*

 

“Daniel, you know that I have to go to work, right?” Jack wondered what the kid would do if he swooped him up for a hug; evidently, shrinking hadn’t lessened his aversion to people intruding in his space. He settled for ruffling his hair as he set his breakfast in front of him. Finding food that a child raised in Egypt would eat was an ongoing adventure.

“Yes.”

“And you can’t come to work with me. But we have a place where I can leave you with some very good people. And there will be other kids there, too. Would you like to play with some other kids?”

“I guess.” There was more than a hint of reluctance in his voice.

 

*

 

The Cheyenne Mountain Daycare was on the opposite side of the lot where Jack usually parked. “Okay, kid, let’s get you out of there.” It just seemed to Jack that booster seats had gotten a lot more complicated since Charlie had used one. Getting the damn thing in had taken an Air Force colonel, an astrophysicist and a smirking teenager from the kiddy store at the mall. Holding a tiny hand in his, Jack prepared to meet the enemy.

“Good morning. You must be Colonel O’Neill. General Hammond said you were on your way.” She crouched in front of them. “Good morning, Daniel. My name is Amy Thornton but you can call me Miss Amy.”

“Okay.” 

“Why don’t the two of you come on in to my office and I’ll tell you a little about what we do.” They followed her into a brightly lit office with windows on all sides. “I like to see what’s going on at all times,” she followed Jack’s gaze. She smiled to herself, she’d have enough military people in here to know what he was thinking. “Don’t worry, Colonel, we rarely come under attack.”

Jack forced himself to smile. “Sorry. This is just...pretty new to me.”

“Have a seat. Daniel, we have a chair here just for you.” Jack hefted Daniel into the chair that brought him up to the adult-level table. “I have security clearance, so I do know what has happened to Daniel.” She briefly outlined the structure of the day, the hours of service, their parental pick-up policy.

“You have a list of who is authorized to pick Daniel up?”

“Yes, Colonel. Only you, General Hammond, Major Carter or Dr. Fraiser are allowed to pick Daniel up. We are in a unique position here in that anyone who gets to the daycare has already been vetted at the first gate. We’ll know if someone is coming up here, sir.” She held his gaze. Jack sighed in understanding; the possibilities didn’t even bear thinking about. 

“I will be happy to give you my assessment of Daniel,” she smiled at him, “after he’s been here for a week or so.” Her input would help determine the need for a child psychologist. “Now, Daniel, the colonel tells me that you aren’t from here and that some of our food and our customs might be pretty strange to you.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he looked straight at her as he spoke.

“Well, I already know that someone has done a wonderful job of teaching you manners. I appreciate that, Daniel. Let’s look at this week’s menu and see what you might like to eat. Of course, you can always bring in something special that Daniel likes. Do you have any allergies that we need to know about?”

“You mean, like food?” She nodded. “I don’t know. But I sneeze a lot sometimes.”

“That’s probably dust and stuff like that? We keep it pretty clean here, so you don’t have to worry about that. But we also have Miss Tara here, she’s a nurse so she can take care of you if you sneeze a whole lot. In fact, why don’t we walk around the center and introduce you to everyone?”

 

*

 

Amy and Jack stood to one side watching as Daniel, rabbit clutched in one hand, investigated a mini-kitchen set. “I didn’t know Daniel before but is he usually this quiet?”

“No, and that’s one of the things that has us worried. By now, he should have told you what he did and didn’t like about this place, how awful the food was, how the rigidly structured American education system is subverting children’s natural curiosity and would be, within a week, leading the rest of the munchkins in a peaceful coup. If he ever gets started, you may find yourself with an amazingly articulate five-year-old.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Why don’t you say good-bye and let’s see how we get along?”

 

*

 

A report from the science team on PX-392 warranted a briefing. Hammond, Carter, Fraiser and Dr. Billings were already there when Jack arrived. “Sorry I’m late.”

“That’s quite alright, Colonel, I hope you got Dr. Jackson settled.”

“Yes, sir, he’s making new friends even as we speak.” They all smiled a bit at the thought of Daniel doing what he did best. 

“Dr. Billings, you have something interesting to report?”

“Yes, General. We’ve been doing some experiments in the cavern. After we discovered the source of the light, we theorized it might have been what affected Dr. Jackson and Teal’c. So we decided to try to replicate the time reversal process.”

“That seems a bit dangerous.” Jack frowned.

“We used fruit, sir.”

“Fruit?”

“You know, prunes, raisins, dried up fruit. We tried to see if we could return it to a less mature state.”

“Great idea.”

“Wish I could take credit for it, but Major Carter suggested it. We’ve had limited success so we are basically at a standstill.” He hesitated.

“The only way you’re gonna know for sure if it works on humans is to try it..” Jack wiggled his hand in the air.

“On humans. Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“You know what? I’d ask Daniel to volunteer but he’s just been put down for his morning nap.” Jack snapped.

“Colonel. We are all well aware of Dr. Jackson’s situation and I don’t believe Dr. Billings was suggesting we use him as a guinea pig.”

“Absolutely, sir. I would never suggest experimenting on humans. Animal experimentation has been discussed but rejected since we don’t know how certain physiology would react.”

“I hate to suggest this, but has anyone thought of Teal’c?”

“We have, Colonel. We could experiment indefinitely and never get any closer to an answer. But I cannot in good conscience recommend this because I have no idea what the outcome would be. Dr. Fraiser?”

“I don’t condone human experimentation but I suspect if you ask Teal’c, he would volunteer. Especially if it might eventually help Daniel. If we’re going to do this, I suggest we take three teams. One, the scientific team, obviously. Second, a security team, also for obvious reasons. And third, a medical team.”

“I’ll take that under advisement. Dr. Billings, thank you for the time and effort your team has put forth in this situation.” Recognizing this as a dismissal, he collected his papers and exited the room.

“Now, Colonel, how is Dr. Jackson?”

“He seems to be adjusting well. Actually too well. He is aware that his parents are dead and told me that he is sad, I believe he described it as his kind of sad. If he’s cried, I haven’t seen it. Mrs. Thornton has agreed to give me an assessment next week. He sleeps well, eats very little but that may just be that the food is strange to him. I’ve been corrupting him by introducing him to TV and the Internet. He learns very quickly, but that shouldn’t surprise any of us. Fraiser asked me to keep an eye on his vision and I hate to say it, but it looks like he needs a trip to the optometrist.”

“Has he given any indication that he retains any of Dr. Jackson’s memories?”

“No indication, but he does speak several languages.” Fraiser answered.

“Really?”

“Yes, Daniel and I had a very nice conversation in French the other day and he chatted easily in Spanish with Lt. Cortez. He recognized hieroglyphics on a book that we brought him from his office. So that’s at least two or three languages other than English.”

“We still need to talk about temporary custody of Dr. Jackson.”

“Oh, we don’t need to discuss that. If anyone’s gonna raise the little feller, it’s gonna be me.”

“Colonel, are you sure?”

“Oh, yeah, Daniel is my best friend. And, he’d do it for me.” Sam couldn’t hide her shudder at the picture of a five-year-old Jack O’Neill. A glimmer in his eye told her he knew just what she was thinking.

“Listen, I’m not saying that you all can’t help and believe me, I figure I’ll be begging for help if we don’t fix him before he hits puberty. But he needs stability. He doesn’t need us to bounce him around to a different house every night. He needs to know that he has a home, a family, no matter what.”

 

*

 

The few times Jack picked Charlie up from daycare or the babysitter, he usually got a kid flinging himself in his arms. What he got with Daniel was a cool glance as he took him by the hand. “So, how was your day?” Jack belted him in the booster seat.

“Okay.”

“Make any friends?” Daniel fidgeted at that. “Hey, kid, what happened?”

“Lizzie kissed me!” He sounded nearly as affronted as normal Daniel would have.

“I’ll bet she liked you, that’s why she kissed you.”

“She told Miss Amy I was pretty.” 

Jack hid a smile, biting back a comment on just how pretty Daniel was. “Already bowling them over, kid. Feel like going out to dinner tonight?”

“Where?”

“Sam wants us to come to her house. Is that okay?”

“As long as she doesn’t kiss me. Girls are scary.”

*

 

And of course, Sam swooped on Daniel as soon as they walked in. “Hey, watch out,” Jack drew away. “I have been informed that girls are scary and under no circumstance will one be allowed to kiss my kid.”

“Daniel?” She ignored the ‘my kid’ crack.

“A little girl kissed him at daycare and he’s still pissed about it.”

“Poor baby,” Sam took him out of Jack’s arms. And promptly kissed his cheek.

“She…she said I was pretty.” He was still insulted.

Jack grinned, not mentioning that Daniel hadn’t seemed to mind Carter kissing him. “I’m not sure which upset him more, the kiss or the pretty remark.”

“Some day you’ll appreciate both.”

“That’s what Jack said.” His tone suggested he didn’t believe either of them.

 

*

 

As suspected, Teal’c volunteered to be a guinea pig for SG-12’s time experiment. He asked only that he be allowed to see Daniel before he left. Jack was iffy about letting Daniel see Teal’c, especially in a cell and even more if the kid found out what Teal’c was risking in the hope of ‘fixing’ him. They resolved the quandary by having Jack bring Daniel in to see Fraiser and letting Teal’c be in one of the observation rooms. Jack kept trying not to look at the window, knowing who was on the other side.

“So, Daniel, kiss any more girls today?”

“I didn’t kiss her, she kissed me,” Daniel coolly pointed out.

“I stand corrected. How about telling me about the other kids in daycare?”

Daniel shrugged, his legs swinging from his seat on the bed, the ever present bunny in his arms. “There are a lot of them.”

“That’s illuminating.”

“We don’t have a lot in common, Jack. They know a lot of stuff I don’t.”

“And you know a lot of stuff they don’t.” Jack ached for the child who still couldn’t make friends easily.

“That is true.”

“Give it some time, Daniel. Pretty soon you’ll be running around talking about…whatever it is you kids talk about.”

“We mostly talk about how unfair our parents are.” Daniel gave him a sidelong glance that Jack recalled all too well.

“Oh, yeah, poor put-upon children who never get what they want.” Jack let his voice rise into an annoying whine. Leaning over, he tweaked the bunny. “Did you ever give him a name?”

“No, he didn’t really like ‘bunny’ or,” Daniel scowled at Jack, “’bugs’. He doesn’t look like a bug.”

“No, he doesn’t, does he?”

Janet walked briskly in. “Doesn’t what?”

“We’re trying to come up with a name for Daniel’s bunny. He didn’t care for my suggestion.”

“Why do I think I’d agree with Daniel on this one? Daniel, how are you feeling?”

“Okay.”

“Well, everything looks good. I would like to see you gain a little weight, Daniel. I know the food here is very odd to you, but we’ll keep trying until we find something that you really like.”

“I like milk. And ice cream.” They had found that he would eat almost anything that was cold, he was fascinated by refrigeration. 

“That’s very good. You need plenty of milk. How about fruits and vegetables? How are we doing on those?”

“Not quite so good, Doc. We disagree over most green stuff, although he will occasionally eat a piece of lettuce or two. Broccoli is also a no go. We’re still undecided about green beans.”

“Well, I’m sure we can come to some kind of agreement on them. Try some different fruits, like oranges, tangerines until you find something he will eat. I don’t want to start him on vitamins unless I absolutely have to. Oh, and I have the name of an optometrist. You need to make an appointment for Daniel.”

Jack frowned. “We’re waiting on some…paperwork.”

“Oh, right,” she smiled at Daniel, remembering that they were in the process of ‘obtaining’ Daniel’s birth certificate so that they could ‘produce’ documents making Jack the legal guardian of one Daniel Jackson.

“Doc, I need to step out in the hallway just for a moment, if that’s okay?”

“I’m sure Daniel and I can find something to talk about, can’t we?”

 

*

 

Jack carefully shut the door behind him, then loped up the steps to the observation room where a restrained Teal’c stood stiffly. Jack was torn; were they really going to risk Teal’c to save Daniel? He had to know that Teal’c truly understood. “Teal’c, you do know how dangerous this is? You could die.”

“You will protect the child.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. No matter what happens Daniel will be taken care of. You’ve got my word on that.”

“Then I am ready.” He looked at Daniel one last time before he was led away. Jack prepared to take the kid home while Fraiser went through the gate with Teal’c; he didn’t want Daniel anywhere near if this went down the wrong way and they brought a body bag home.

*

Glancing at the sky, Jack realized they were in for a stormy night. He just hoped they got home before it started. Even though Daniel would never acknowledge being afraid of storms, he had always been uneasy around them, jumping and wincing at the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning.

“Here we are, home safe and sound.” He didn’t think he’d ever get used to this cooperative Daniel, who sat quietly in his booster seat and waited patiently to be freed. “Okay, there you go, kid. Let’s see what we’ve got for supper.” Jack lifted him and instead of putting him down as usual, carried him into the house. As soon as he was down, Daniel scampered for the computer, another thing that clearly fascinated him. More than once, Jack had spied pictures of pyramids and deserts on the screen.

Jack had dinner in the oven when the storm hit. And Daniel started screaming. “Daniel!” Jack ran for him, frightened beyond words to find him curled up in a ball on the floor, screaming with every breath. “Are you hurt? Daniel?” He shook him as he grabbed him. “What’s wrong?” Shaking him harder, Jack got no reaction. 

He headed for the couch, intending to put him down and check for injuries. But Daniel would have none of it, winding his arms around Jack’s neck with a frantic choke hold. Jack couldn’t understand the words tumbling out, replacing the screams Daniel simply didn’t have the breath for anymore. Jack comforted him the only way he knew how; he held on tight, stroking his shaking body, kissing his forehead, murmuring meaningless words of reassurance. “I’ve got you, baby, you’re alright.”

They sat like that for a very long time, Daniel’s ramblings now reduced to choked sobs then to determined sniffles. There was a pool of used Kleenex on the couch when Daniel finally took a huge breath and then relaxed against Jack. “You okay now?” He felt the nod under his chin. “You want to talk about what happened?” An emphatic shake followed. 

Jack hauled him upstairs, washed his face and hands, changed his clothes and carried him back down. His query about dinner elicited another head shake, equally as emphatic. “You can sit with me while I eat. I’m starved, I don’t know what kind of meat that was for lunch but I’m almost positive it wasn’t beef. Maybe it was buffalo, or even ostrich.” His suggestions got sillier and sillier until he heard what might have been a sigh against his chest.

“Okay, you sit here and I’ll dish it up. Sure I can’t get you a plate?” The glare he received clearly expressed Daniel’s opinion. “At least, drink a glass of milk. I don’t want to have to explain to Fraiser how you lost weight instead of gaining.” Much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn’t force Daniel to eat but he was hoping to sneak a few bites into him.

A very few bites were all he managed. Daniel did drink the milk, mangled a piece of bread without eating a single crumb and let Jack slip three bites of chicken in before he realized what Jack was doing and clammed up. Figuring he’d let him know if and when he got hungry, Jack tidied the kitchen, all the while aware of a pair of serious blue eyes following his every move. 

 

They were on the couch watching TV when the phone rang. Jack was supposedly watching TV, he was actually watching Daniel reading from a book Jack was convinced weighed more than he did. 

“Colonel? Can you talk?”

“Sure, that information is upstairs, let me get it for you.” Jack loped up the stairs and closed the bedroom door. “Yeah, Doc, Daniel’s downstairs. What’s up?”

“First of all, Teal’c is in the infirmary, we nearly lost him.”

“Dammit!” Jack swore softly. “What happened?”

“Evidently when Teal’c stepped in the room, the light show started all on its own. Then the ground shook like before. He was unconscious and not breathing when we got him out. We had to shock him several times to get him back. He’s stable for now. Colonel, we won’t know until he wakes up what really happened. I thought you’d like to know.”

“Thanks, Doc. I appreciate that.”

“So, how’s Daniel?”

“Actually, he had a bit of an episode. Freaked out, I think it was the storm that did it. He did some screaming and a whole lot of crying. He is, as usual, declining to talk about it.”

“So he’s okay now?”

“Very, very quiet. More so than usual.”

He heard her sigh over the phone. “I’d like to stop and check on him but I don’t really feel comfortable leaving Teal’c right now.”

“He’ll be fine, Janet. He’s a tough little kid. I’ll bring him in tomorrow and you can see what you think. Oh, wait, tomorrow afternoon. We’ve got a morning appointment at the optometrist. Wish me luck.”

Daniel was exactly where he’d left him, except that he was asleep, using his precious bunny as a pillow. “Bedtime, little man.” Jack carefully lifted him, making sure bunny came along for the ride.

*

By afternoon, Jack was beyond anxious about Teal’c. He’d slipped away from Daniel at the doctor’s to make a quick call, only to be told ‘no change.’ Daniel had been well-behaved at the optometrist’s, resulting in most of the staff fawning over him, especially after they fitted tiny silver frames on that little face. The big blue eyes popped even more behind the frames, which were the kind that bent in every direction but didn’t break. The optometrist assured him they were nearly unbreakable. “You know what? I’ll get back to you on that. You don’t know Daniel like I do.”

Carter whisked Daniel to her lab while Jack hit the infirmary. “Colonel, I’m glad you’re here, he’s a bit restless.”

“That good?”

“That’s very good. He seems to be increasingly aware of what’s going on around him but we won’t really know until we can talk to him.”

One of the nurses poked her head into Fraiser’s office. “Dr. Fraiser, he’s waking up.”

They headed in to the isolation room where only yesterday she had chatted with Daniel. Jack lightly tapped his shoulder. “Hey, Teal’c, you in there somewhere?”

It took a few long seconds but finally he opened his eyes. “O’Neill?”

Jack grinned. “That would be me.”

It took another few seconds before Teal’c could get the energy to speak again. “What of Daniel Jackson? Was he injured?”

“Teal’c, do you remember what happened?”

He fumbled through the story, of the light coming on, him stopping Daniel from entering. “I bade him stay outside until I ascertained the safety of the cavern. What has occurred?”

“Teal’c, just checking here, but what was the last thing I said to you?”

“You insinuated that Daniel Jackson misbehaved exclusively on Thursdays and ordered me to take care of him. Where is Daniel Jackson?”

Jack and Fraiser exchanged glances. Clearly, Teal’c was back to himself, but they were torn over how much to tell him. “Teal’c, when that light show hit something happened to you and Daniel. You both kind of lost part of your life. You volunteered to go back and help SG-12 with an experiment to get your memory back.”

“And what of Daniel Jackson?”

“Colonel, maybe it would be better if he saw Daniel instead of us trying to explain.” A call to Sam and Daniel was on his way down.

 

The restraints had been removed but Teal’c was still in the isolation room. Jack tried to prepare Daniel, warning him that Teal’c had been sick but was better and was asking to see him, although he might not immediately recognize Daniel. Jack was surprised to feel a hand slipping into his, Daniel wasn’t known for initiating contact. Sweeping him up into his arms, he took Daniel in to see Teal’c. “Teal’c, meet Daniel.”

Teal’c’s eyebrow did an impressive shoot upwards. “O’Neill, this is a child.”

“Noticed that, Teal’c. But this is Daniel. Say hi to Teal’c, Daniel.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Teal’c.”

Teal’c stared at the guileless blue eyes behind the brand new glasses. “I am feeling better now, Daniel Jackson, now that I see you are well.”

“You can just call me Daniel,” he invited politely

“I cannot.”

Daniel’s eyebrows did their own movement. “Why not?”

“I will explain later. When we have more time.”

Then Daniel did something that none of them expected. He leaned over and gently patted Teal’c’s arm, his hand tiny and fragile against that arm. “Can I come back and see you tomorrow?”

 

*

“When the ground began to shake, we entered the chamber. The light display ended and we found Teal’c unconscious on the floor.” Dr. Billings was clearly shaken.

Fraiser took up the narrative. “Teal’c was unresponsive and had no pulse. He was shocked three times before we found a pulse. He was still unresponsive when we gated back. When he woke up, he was back to normal.”

“Remembered who he was, that Apophis was a dead false god.” Jack just had to jump in with his two cents.

“And he remembered what happened in the cavern?”

 

“Yes, sir, he did. I asked him specifically what the last thing I said to him was and he got it dead right. He was quite shocked to meet the midget version of Daniel Jackson, though.”

“I quite understand how he might be. This leaves us with quite a dilemma. Dr. Fraiser,” Hammond queried.

“I can’t recommend we try this on Daniel, sir. Teal’c is a fully grown adult, with a symbiote to sustain him and it was a near thing. There’s no way we can try this with a child.”

“I think we’re all on the same page here. If it comes down to risking Dr. Jackson’s life or leaving him as a child, there really is no choice. Major Carter, do you have any idea the purpose of this device?”

“There could be several uses. We don’t know if it age-reversed Teal’c symbiote, that could very well have been the purpose. If you could extend the life of the symbiote, you extend the life of the Goa’uld. It’s all just speculation, sir.”

“Colonel O’Neill, can you give us an update on his condition?”

“Well, as you probably saw, we got the glasses. As I was telling Fraiser, he had a bit of a meltdown last night during that thunderstorm. Daniel was never crazy about storms to begin with but this was out and out hysteria.”

“I’ve given him a quick going over and he doesn’t seem any worse for it. In fact, he’s probably better for it. I’d guess that he found a way to vent his grief, even if he doesn’t realize it yet. I’m still a bit concerned about his eating habits, but hopefully, that’s something we can work on. And I suggest we start looking for a pediatrician for him.” 

She shook her head at Jack’s expression. “Colonel, we’ve already had this discussion. I am not a children’s doctor, Daniel needs someone trained specifically in children’s health issues. You are always welcome to call me anytime you need me, but this is in Daniel’s best interests. According to Dr. Jackson’s medical records, he had his tonsils out at six so we need to be ready for the possibility that some things about him haven’t changed.”

“Colonel, this looks like it may be a long-term situation with Dr. Jackson. Have your feelings changed in regard to his future?”

“No,” Jack was adamant. “If anything, I’m more determined than ever. Daniel needs me, sir. If we can’t fix this, then I’m adopting him.”

“Very well, then we’ll proceed with the cover story, that Dr. Jackson fathered the child but until recently was unaware of his existence. As far as anyone knows, Dr. Jackson is missing in action and left his child in the care of Colonel O’Neill. Jack, I believe we have a lunch date with a certain young man.”

*

 

Daniel was already ensconced in the commissary’s one and only booster seat. And having a conversation with an unknown soldier. “Airman?” Jack loomed.

“Sir.” The airman straightened. “He was just giving me some help with a pronunciation. Apparently, I had the accent on the wrong syllable.” Smiling his thanks, he moved away.

“Showing off, Daniel?” Jack took a seat while Hammond stopped at a nearby table.

“No, Jack, but he was saying the word wrong.” Daniel was intensely earnest. Jack looked at Sam, who just shrugged as if to say ‘what do you expect?’ “Is Teal’c gonna eat with us?”

“No, I’m afraid Dr. Fraiser’s not quite ready to let him out of the infirmary. I told you he was sick, didn’t I? But I’m sure your visit cheered him up. So, squirt, what are we eating? And don’t say ice cream, because Fraiser will kill me if you don’t eat something that at least resembles a vegetable.” After a discussion, Daniel agreed to try some pot roast, as long as it was followed by the ever present ice cream.

In a very short time, Daniel and Sam were joined by Jack and General Hammond, who seemed to have quite a knack with children, having gotten Daniel to eat all the carrots on his plate. He chuckled at Jack’s expression. “I have grandchildren, I’ll have you know, Colonel. Getting them to eat is something I’m an old hand at.”

*

 

That afternoon, Jack proceeded to begin the process of removing Dr. Daniel Jackson’s presence from the face of the Earth. He sat down at his desk in his house and began going through Daniel’s life. He wasn’t surprised to find everything in meticulously kept order. The deed to his house, his financial records, his will and other important papers were clearly labeled in one of the drawers. 

It was also no shock to see Daniel had saved quite a pile of money. Not that Jack needed the money, but it was nice to know the kid would have a nest egg for when he was an adult. Jack was Daniel’s power of attorney so he could sell Daniel’s house, Jeep and do any other business he needed to do. Putting the papers in his briefcase, he began the laborious process of tagging what would be taken to his house, what would be returned to the base, what would be put in storage and what could be sold. Judging by the amount of stuff in his house, this could take several sessions

At four o’clock, he picked up his briefcase and looked sadly around Daniel’s house before he locked the door and drove back to the Cheyenne Mountain Daycare. 

*

 

One of the aides was waiting for him in the lobby. “Ms. Thornton would like to speak to you, Colonel.”

“Daniel?”

“He’s fine. He’s in the reading room right now.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Jack headed for the office.

*

 

“Colonel, have a seat. I promised you an assessment on Daniel. I know you aren’t crazy about the idea of a child psychologist but I am suggesting Daniel speak to one. Has he asked you, even one time, how his parents were killed? What happened to them?”

“No,” Jack shook his head. “He knows that they were dead, even brought up the subject, but that was the only time it was mentioned.”

“It’s not normal, Colonel. In a child with Daniel’s intellectual capacity, there should be a need to know. That he hasn’t asked means he’s still in denial over their deaths. So I’ll refer you to Dr. Bennett at the base hospital, he has security clearance so he can be given Daniel’s complete history. This really is in Daniel’s best interest, Colonel.”

Jack hated to agree, but he saw the logic in her argument. “Okay, I’ll set up an appointment.”

“It’s almost impossible to give an IQ test to a five-year-old and I don’t know how accurate it would be, but I have tried to assess Daniel’s intelligence level. He has a commanding vocabulary, both in usage and understanding. As I said, his imagination and capacity for understanding far outweigh a typical five-year-old. He can read books on a sixth or seventh grade level and possibly higher, if something interested him. We had a discussion about placing him in school but I’m afraid I wouldn’t recommend it. Daniel needs to be academically challenged but where do you place him? With his age peers or his intellectual peers? He’s not going to fit in either group. I’m sorry, I know you don’t want to hear this.”

“It’s just that the first time around, school wasn’t good for him. I was just hoping this time around things would be a bit more..” Jack was at a loss of words.

“Normal? You have to face the facts that Daniel is never going to be normal. Even if he hadn’t regressed thirty years, he would still have trouble in school. I understand his parents home-schooled him so I gather they came to the same realization. I know public school isn’t the answer, they simply cannot give Daniel what he needs.”

“So, what are our options?”

“Private school, home-schooling, private tutoring. The only problem is that Daniel is not adapting socially. He has trouble playing with the other children, holds himself off from them. Given time, that may change but you have to realize that this is an issue that really needs to be addressed. Hopefully, Dr. Bennett can help, he really is wonderful with children. I hope he can help Daniel open up.” 

*

 

And Jack realized that part of that was his fault. Had he even shown Daniel the slightest bit of affection at all? Yeah, he had picked him up and carried him, but with the exception of the night he had the nightmare, he had simply been going through the motions. That thought was still weighing heavily on his mind when he walked into the reading room so Jack couldn’t resist grabbing the little tyke up and giving him a big hug.

“Jack?” The voice was almost timid.

“Yeah, big guy?” Instead of putting him down as he normally would, Jack draped the coat over his shoulders and carried him out to the car.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I just forgot something.” Buckling him in, Jack looked at the serious little face. “I forgot to tell you that I love you, Daniel.” The big blue eyes blinked rapidly. “So is it okay with you if I tell you that? A lot? Because I don’t want you to ever forget it.”

“I won’t forget, Jack,” came a soft whisper.

*

 

Since Jack didn’t believe in putting off the inevitable, he made two doctor’s appointments in one day. Pediatrician in the morning, psychologist in the afternoon. And probably Fraiser that night, because he was convinced he wasn’t going to survive this.

Dr. Chi was Air Force but he didn’t have clearance so all he knew was that Jack had recently inherited custody of his best friend’s five-year-old. “The truth is,” Jack confessed on the phone while making the appointment, “that I don’t know a whole lot about his medical history. He was raised in Egypt and we’re still trying to find those records, if they even exist.” They had warned them not to broach the subject of his parents. Jack was prepared for an entire battery of tests; he just hoped Daniel was.

“So, Daniel,” Dr. Chi wheeled his chair around so that he was looking Daniel square in the face. “Jack has told us what he knows about your history. I’m afraid we’ll have to hold off on any shots until we can see what you’ve already had. So I hope you won’t be too disappointed if you don’t get a shot this time?”

His head shook emphatically. “I won’t be, I promise.”

“Okay, but I will have to draw some blood. Have you ever had that done?”

“Dr. Fraiser took some of my blood after Jack found me. Is that the same?”

“Yes, it is. I’ll try not to hurt you, but you might want to close your eyes. I know I always do when they stick me.” Jack stepped forward and slid his arms around Daniel, turning his face away.

“Alright, big guy?” His answer was muffled. “Go ahead, Doc.”

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it? You’re a very good patient, Daniel, I can see we’re going to get along fine.” Chi lifted him down and opened the door. “Why don’t you wait right out here with Brenda while I have a chat with the Colonel?”

Closing the door, he resumed his seat. “Relax, Colonel, he seems fine. I’ll feel better after I see his records. But he appears to be a healthy five-year-old.”

“Fraiser was a bit concerned about his weight.”

Chi glanced at the chart. “He is quite small for five. But I understand the dilemma you’re facing with getting him to eat. We get that with kids raised in this country, too. But just keep trying, you’ll find something he likes and don’t obsess about it because I promise Daniel will pick up the tension. I think we’ll go with the children’s vitamins anyway, it won’t hurt him at this point. I don’t see anything that sends up a red flag but until I get those records..”

“We may not be able to find them.” Jack pointed out.

“And we’ll just play it by ear if we can’t. How is he adjusting? Psychologically?”

“We’ve got an appointment with Dr. Bennett this afternoon.”

Chi nodded. “He’s very good with the kids. You’re doing a good job with him, Jack, just keep it up. Wait until he becomes a teen-ager, then you’ll look back on these days and realize how precious they are.”

*

 

Jack wondered why it took him so long to hit on the idea. He took Daniel to a Mediterranean restaurant. It was possibly the first time in forever that Jack could honestly say Daniel’s face lit up. He figured they were about to become their finest patrons.

Jack couldn’t pronounce half the things he had just eaten and he didn’t care. What he cared about was watching Daniel eat every last thing on his plate and a few off Jack’s. Next bookstore visit, he promised himself to purchase a Greek cookbook. And he was going to have to find out where to start shopping. Damn, he wished he’d asked those nice folks at the restaurant who had fallen on Daniel when the kid started ordering things off the menu, pronouncing them blithely. Correctly.

*

 

His good mood lasted exactly as long as it took to get to Dr. Bennett’s office. Especially when he remembered that part of the session was going to be Bennett and Daniel one-on-one. Jack was not looking forward to it. To leaving one very little kid with adult problems to a stranger and ask that person to ‘fix’ him.

“Colonel O’Neill, Daniel. Come on in.” Jack wasn’t sure what he was expecting but it wasn’t to walk into an office that looked suspiciously like someone’s living room. Where was the desk, the files, the office-y stuff? This room held a couple of sofas, a table with comfy looking chairs, large windows that overlooked a spectacular flower garden.

“Daniel, would you like to sit on the couch or would you prefer the table?” Jack bit back the quip about lying down on the couch. God, he’d seen too many movies.

“Um,” Daniel frowned, “couch.”

“Okay, couch it is. How about you sit over there with Jack and I’ll sit over here and we’ll just talk. Is that alright?”

Daniel looked up at Jack, who nodded. “Okay,” he agreed, crawling up on the squishy leather couch, clutching his bunny tightly.

“Daniel, do you know why you’re here?”

“Uh huh. You want me to talk about what makes me sad.”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“Why do I want to talk about what makes you sad?” Daniel nodded. “I know it doesn’t seem like it to you, but talking about your parents and what happened to them is a good thing. I know you think you feel alright and being sad isn’t going to make you feel any different. And maybe that’s true, that’s what we’re going to find out.”

“Okay.”

“Part of the problem, Daniel, is that you are very, very smart. But you know that, don’t you?”

The blond head bobbed up and down. “I can read books that none of the other kids at daycare can read.”

“How does that make you feel?”

“Okay, but it makes some of the kids feel bad, because they can’t read them.”

“And that makes you uncomfortable around those kids.”

“I’m not showing off or anything.” Daniel’s voice was very earnest.

“I guess some of the kids might think you are showing off?”

“Maybe.”

“All kids are different, Daniel. And even though you can do a lot of stuff they can’t, they may be able to do some things that you can’t. Think about how that makes you feel. Maybe the next time, you can help the other kids with their reading and then they can help you with the things they are good at. Would you like to try that?”

“Maybe.”

Bennett was smart enough to know when to back off and he did. “Colonel, there’s a coffee shop out in the lobby. Why don’t you go get a cup and let Daniel and I talk?” This was the part that Jack dreaded, but he got up, gave Daniel a smile and left.

*

 

Fifteen minutes later, Bennett’s receptionist came to fetch him. The first thing he noticed when he entered the room that really was his office was that there was a distinct lack of Daniel in it. “Where’s Daniel?”

“Relax, Chloe has him in the next room. I just wanted to touch base with you for a few minutes. I know you and Dr. Fraiser are worried about Daniel but let me tell you right off that he seems to be pretty okay to me. Yes, he has some issues with his parents, still won’t talk about them but that’s to be expected. I’d be even more worried if he spilled his guts at our first session. I do think once he fully realizes they are truly gone, we may have a rough time with him but it’s not something we can’t handle.”

“Dr. Bennett, he knows they’re dead, he told us they were.”

“Him saying it and accepting it are two totally different things. He seems pretty worried about Teal’c. Have you talked to him about what happened with Teal’c?”

“No, we didn’t want to make him feel guilty. Teal’c only agreed to undergo the experiment because he felt guilty over what happened to Daniel.”

“Colonel, this is a very bright kid you have here. He’s already put two and two together. You told him that he can’t be fixed but don’t tell him how you knew that. Then you take him to visit a recovering Teal’c. He knows, Colonel. He knows that he and Teal’c got hurt together, that Teal’c got very sick trying to help him. You need to let him see Teal’c as much as he needs to, to reassure him that Teal’c is going to be okay.”

“Dammit,” Jack swore, “I didn’t even see that.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Colonel. That’s not going to help anyone. My thoughts are that Daniel is as well-adjusted as possible considering his circumstances. I’m going to want to see him once a week for awhile, just to see how he goes. I can see that he trusts you and I think that’s something that he desperately needs. He needs, hell, any kid needs that stability, that knowing that things are not going to change. He’s had too many changes thrown his way to trust much at this point. The fact that he trusts at all is incredible. Let him know you love him, that you’re not leaving him.”

“In my line of work, I can’t be there as much as I’d like. Is that going to be a problem?”

“I think day care is good for him, he needs to interact with other kids, but you need to have a contingency plan in case something comes up.”

“Dr. Fraiser has already volunteered to keep him when I can’t.”

“That’s a good start, Janet’s an excellent mother. Actually tried to get her to go into psychiatry but she likes where she is. Take Daniel home, Colonel. Keep an eye open for any big changes in behavior. You know, temper tantrums, crying jags.”

“Neither of which I’ve seen. Doc, he’s so well-behaved it’s scary. Do you think he’s gonna crack?”

“It’s not if, Colonel, it’s when. When he realizes this is the way it is, when he realizes he’s not getting his parents back. It will happen, we just have to be there when it does and help him through it.”

*

 

“You okay back there?” Jack peeped at the rear view.

“Um. Did I do okay at Dr. Bennett’s office?”

“You did fine, Daniel. How about when we get home we call Carter and Teal’c and see if they’d like to come to dinner?”

“Okay.”

*

 

Daniel sat silently and watched. He knew what they wanted, but he couldn’t give it to them. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out that they would prefer to have their Daniel instead of him and he was sorry for it. Jack had finally explained that Teal’c had gotten sick when he went back to the planet and that it was simply too dangerous to try again. Daniel guessed Dr. Bennett had told him to do that.

Everyone wanted more of him than he could give. Dr. Bennett wanted him to share his parents, but he couldn’t. He was very much afraid that if he opened that part of his heart, what little he had left of his mother and father would simply cease to exist. Even now, the crystal picture he held of them inside had lost its sharp edges, as if they were moving away from him. 

Miss Amy wanted him to play with the kids at daycare, but he hadn’t figured out how to bridge the gaps between them. He couldn’t give, wouldn’t give anymore of himself than he was giving now. 

He hated himself for responding to Jack, to Sam, as if they could step into the chasm left by his parents. It wasn’t fair for them to expect him to automatically accept that this was the way it was. Somewhere, there had to be a way back to his parents, even though he had no idea how or where to find that way.

So he did what he was supposed to do. He went to the daycare and tried his best to make friends; he soon figured out it was a lot easier if he played dumb. It seemed a pretty stupid thing to do but it got him someone to sit with at lunch, so maybe not so dumb, Daniel thought. 

He spent time with Teal’c and Sam and Janet and tried to tell himself that he didn’t enjoy it, that his frozen heart didn’t crack just a bit when Jack kissed him as he tucked him into bed, when Teal’c tried to teach him to be so still and so quiet that he could hear the life all around him, when Sam took him to her house and just babied him. He went to see Dr. Bennett and fenced with him for an hour; Daniel actually looked forward to it, had come to see it as a sort of an intellectual challenge, a battle of wits.

Daniel was afraid when his parents came back, they wouldn’t like what was happening but he was powerless to stop it. Little by little, inch by inch, he was falling in love with his new life, his new family. He could no more stop the relentless emotions inside him than he could have stopped whatever cataclysmic event had led him here.

*

 

It was, in the end, a simple thing that fractured Daniel’s world. A common, ordinary newspaper. A paper that Jack dropped onto the couch as he headed for the kitchen. “So, what sounds good for dinner? We’ve got, oh, wait, we’ve got nothing because somebody forgot to take anything out of the freezer. Looks like its either sandwiches, we order in or go out. Daniel?” 

Jack walked back into the living room to find Daniel frozen on the couch, newspaper in hand. “Daniel? What’s wrong?” Daniel never moved, not even when Jack took the paper out of his hand. “Daniel, please talk to me, tell me what’s wrong.” It was like the kid was in a trance. What could he have seen in the paper that was so stunning? 

Jack glanced at the front page; fighting overseas, no shock there. A vigil commemorating the twentieth anniversary of Lennon’s death, Jack shrugged; he hadn’t really been a Beatles fan. A murder, two robberies and a missing teen-ager. Nothing that would explain this state of, well, shock would be the only way Jack could describe it.

He picked up Daniel and tried to get the stiff limbs to relax. But for the first time, Daniel fought him, held himself away from Jack, struggling against the arms that held him, the soft voice that tried to break through the ice. “Daniel, come on, baby, talk to me.”

Daniel went limp, so limp, so suddenly that Jack very nearly dropped him. And he started to cry. Not the sobbing, crying of a hurt child, but the silent tears of a broken heart. Jack just held on. Held on tight as he sat down, rocking Daniel and murmuring useless platitudes.

Jack was torn, not knowing what to do. Should he call Dr. Bennett, or maybe Fraiser? Should he try to get Daniel to talk, or try to get him to sleep? The only thing Jack knew was that he couldn’t let go, not when Daniel so clearly needed him. “Shhh, baby, it’s alright.”

Daniel suddenly came to life, struggling again and shouting, screaming really. “It’s not alright, it’s not! It’s not alright and you can’t make it alright.”

Jack shifted Daniel, held him easily so he could see his face, red and swollen with tears. “Maybe if you tell me what’s wrong I can help you?”

“You can’t. No one can.” His voice was tired, defeated and chilled Jack.

That’s when Jack had his oh-shit moment. He had assumed this break would come during one of Dr. Bennett’s sessions and all he would be called upon to do was mop up the tears and buy the little tyke an ice cream or something. To be the one responsible for guiding Daniel through a minefield of grief was not something Jack was prepared to do. 

Feeling like he was in very deep water without any hope of rescue, Jack spoke cautiously. “Daniel, you know you can talk to me, don’t you? No matter what you think or feel, I want to hear it. You know that.”

“They’re really dead.” Instead of the matter-of-fact tone Daniel usually used, this one was shaky, wavering, and tear-filled.

“Yes, Daniel, they are. I’m so sorry but your parents are dead.”

“And they’re never coming for me, are they?” He was crying again now, huge tears coursing down his face.

“No, baby, they’re not. They didn’t want to leave you, but it wasn’t up to them. It just happened.” 

“I wish they’d taken me with them.”

*

 

Daniel finally cried himself to sleep. Jack covered him up right there on the couch and fumbled for Dr. Bennett’s phone number, leaving a message with his service. Yes, he told the girl on the other end, he would definitely classify this as an emergency. Bennett called back less that fifteen minutes later and Jack went into the kitchen just in case Daniel woke up.

“Dr. Bennett, I’m sorry for calling you after hours, but Daniel had a meltdown. I don’t know, something in the paper upset him and he started crying. Then he asked me if it was true his parents were dead and they weren’t coming back for him. Doc,” Jack paused, terrified but having to voice it, “he said he wished they’d taken him with them.”

“He’s not suicidal, that’s not what he meant. He thinks they are somewhere else and he wants to be there, too. Daniel has been living in a delusion for the past month. Something finally shocked him into the real world. We knew this would happen, Colonel, eventually. How is he now?”

“He’s asleep. Cried himself to sleep actually. So, what now?”

“The morning may be tough. He may act like it didn’t happen or he may want to talk about it. Either way, I think we need to have a session tomorrow. Would you object to my coming to your home to see Daniel?”

“If you think we need to.”

“I do. If Daniel tries the denial route, we need to force him to face this. Yes, Colonel, I know that sounds harsh and we are talking about a five-year-old. But letting it go does him no favors, I promise you. Shall we say around eleven in the morning?”

Jack gave him the address and hung up. It went against everything he thought he knew. You protected children, you didn’t make them face the harsh realities of life. He thought back to that day in the briefing room when he had so blithely said he was adopting Daniel. He really had no idea what he was getting both of them into. What if he screwed this up? Or worse, what if he screwed Daniel up?

*

 

As Dr. Bennett predicted, the next morning Daniel was in denial. No, he didn’t remember what happened last night and no, he didn’t want to talk about it. Jack decided not to tell him Bennett was on his way over. Probably best just to sneak that one up on him. So Jack got him to eat a few bites before plopping him in the tub then into his room to dress. Then sneaking a phone call in to Fraiser, who promised to come over if needed. She wasn’t crazy about the idea of sedating Daniel but Jack wasn’t crazy about letting him make himself sick crying like he had last night.

Daniel was sitting quietly on the couch, staring at nothing, clutching his bunny when the doorbell rang. Jack gave one big sigh before he opened the door.

“Good morning, Daniel.”

Daniel’s face was puzzled, then accusing. “You called him!”

“Yes, I did, Daniel, I was very worried about you. I thought Dr. Bennett might be able to help.”

“I don’t want to talk to him.” His reply was cool.

“Well, since I’m here, why don’t we talk anyway? Jack said something you read in the paper upset you. Can you tell me what it was?”

“No!”

“Okay, I’ll just read it myself then.” Bennett planted himself across from Daniel and scanned the front page. “Hmm, let’s just read the headlines, shall we? I know you can understand them, even the big words. ‘New fighting in Middle East’, ‘Two robberies overnight’, ‘Lennon vigil to be...”

“Shut up!” Daniel was quaking.

“What was it about that story, Daniel? Did your parents listen to the Beatles?”

“She cried!” He shouted.

“Who cried, Daniel?”

“She read it in the paper. When they broke up, my mother cried and my father said she was never going to see them in concert again and my mother said shut up, you like them too!” Daniel’s breath was hitching, as he tried to keep from crying.

“Did she sing to you, Daniel? Did your mother sing one of their songs for you? When you were sad or sick or couldn’t sleep. Did she have a special song for you?”

“Let It Be,” the reply was barely a whisper.

“I like that one, that’s a very nice one. Do you know the words?” Daniel shook his head, burying his face in his toy. “I think it’s very good that you can remember your mother, remember how much she loved you. She did love you, Daniel, you know they both loved you.”

“Then why did they leave me?” He jumped up, shouting. 

“Even though we’re adults, we can’t control everything that happens to us. What happened to them was beyond their control. They didn’t know it was going to happen. Or they would have done things differently that day. They would have made sure it was safe.” Bennett wasn’t quite ready to tell Daniel he had been there, had witnessed what happened. He would only do so if asked directly.

“What happened to them?” Daniel realized he wanted to know, had to know.

“Let’s talk about that another time, shall we?”

“I want to know!”

Bennett glanced up to see Jack standing behind the couch, biting his lip, obviously wanting to spare Daniel this. “They were in a museum, setting up a display. One of the artifacts slipped and hit them.”

Daniel looked Jack right in the eye. “I was there, wasn’t I?”

“Daniel.”

“I want to know! I saw them get killed, didn’t I? Why can’t I remember?”

“Because it didn’t happen until later. It didn’t happen when you were five, you were older. You didn’t see it happen. Not this time.”

It was clear Daniel was confused, unsure of what he should be feeling. “Daniel, I want you to think about your parents, what they would want for you. Don’t you think they would want you to be safe, to be with people who loved you?”

The tears were starting again. Jack had a stab of guilt about how much agony they were forcing Daniel to suffer. Bennett shot him a look with a shake of his head, quelling him. For the moment. “I don’t know.” The voice was that of a frightened five-year-old.

“I think you do, Daniel. I think any mother who would sing a lullaby to help her baby sleep would want to know her baby was safe with someone, even if that someone wasn’t her. You don’t have to trade your mother and father for Jack, that’s not how this works. You can still keep your parents,” Bennett knelt in front of the rigidly controlled Daniel to tap his chest, “right here. Forever.”

“Promise?”

“Absolutely, I promise, Daniel. That’s something that no one can take away from you. Right here is a card with my name and number on it. If you need me, you can call me, anytime, you understand? You can always talk to me or Jack about anything. Okay?” Daniel nodded, sniffling. “I think we’ve talked enough, don’t you? Maybe you can get out and just have some fun today. It’s a beautiful day out there.”

*

 

“Okay, so here’s the plan. We go to that restaurant you like.”

“You just want to get out of cooking.” Daniel offered with a sniffle.

“Just for that, I get to order and you get to eat whatever I pick out.”

“You can’t speak Greek and I can eat anything they can dish up.” Although he was still too pale, a bit of his normal spunk was showing.

“And then we take Dr. Bennett’s advice and just enjoy the day. Maybe we can get those folks to fix us up a picnic and head for the park. Get a little sun on that nose.” He tapped the aforementioned feature. “You want to see if Sam and Teal’c can come with us?”

Daniel hesitated. “Can it just be you and me today? Is that okay?”

Translation was, Jack realized, please don’t make me talk about my feelings to anyone else today. “Yep, that’s okay. Come on, get your coat, let’s go.”

*

 

An hour later found them at a picnic table in a local park, although Daniel had eaten, he hadn’t eaten enough to satisfy Jack. Not like the first time, when he’d practically licked his plate clean. Putting it down to the after effects of a bad two days, Jack let it slide. “So you want to play?”

Shaking his head, Daniel looked across the table at him. “Can we just...be quiet for a few minutes?”

Instead of replying, Jack rose, walked around the table and picked Daniel up, bringing him down into this lap as he sat, wrapping his arms around the child, resting his chin on those baby-soft curls. “Like this?”

“Yeah.” They sat in the quiet for what seemed like a very long time. 

“Daniel, will you promise me something? Promise me that you won’t ever, ever forget that you’re loved and wanted.”

He was silent for a long time. “I know you want your Daniel back.”

“You are my Daniel.” Jack squeezed him.

“No, I’m not.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. Let me tell you about my Daniel. My Daniel would have worried about hurting other people’s feelings. My Daniel would have leapt in to help a friend, no matter what it cost him.”

“Is that what happened with Teal’c? How I got shrunk?”

“Yeah, it is, you jumped in to help Teal’c and got hurt. That’s what my Daniel would have done and I gotta think you’d do the same. So, you see, I do have my Daniel.”  
Jack felt the teardrops on his hand.

“It’s not fair!”

Jack pulled him even closer. “No, baby, it’s not fair, it’s not fair at all.”

“Jack?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“Will I ever be big again?”

“One day, Daniel, you will.”

“One day,” Daniel repeated softly.


End file.
